Well, we are now in the month of June and baseball is heating up! Fantasy baseball teams around the nation are still searching for ways to land a championship trophy for the 2024 season.
 
Any experienced fantasy player will consistently monitor the free agent market. Mid-season pickups can often be the difference between a contender and pretender when it comes to fantasy baseball.
 
So, are there any solid pickups available on the free agency market right now????
 
Well, first, before I answer that question, I want to brag a bit about my article from May 4, 2024. I advised that Ryan Jeffers, the catcher for the Minnesota Twins, was a SOLID pickup! He was only rostered by 67% of leagues in Yahoo Sports at the time I wrote the article.
 
Well, since my article was published, Jeffers has been a hot item! As of June 1st, he is rostered by 82% of all leagues in Yahoo. He crushed another 7 homeruns since the article was written less than a month ago. I think it is safe to say that my free agent pickup was a WINNER!
 
So, who am I recommending now? Well, I will say his name is anything but a “sleeper” name. He is actually one of the best in baseball. He will be an automatic Hall of Famer after he retires.
 
His name? CLAYTON KERSHAW!
 
Kershaw, the legend of the L.A. Dodgers has had a DOMINANT career in Major League Baseball. He is only 56 strikeouts short of 3,000, and he has an unbelievable career E.R.A. of 2.48 to go along with a career W.H.I.P. of 1.00.  After his rookie year, during which time he posted an E.R.A. of 4.26, he went 13 out of 15 seasons with an E.R.A. under 3.00, which is just downright absurd!
 
So how is he doing this season? Well, he has not played yet! Kershaw had left shoulder surgery in 2023 and has been on the injured reserves ever since. For this reason, many fantasy players avoided drafting him when the season began.
 
He is expected to return in late July or early August. It is encouraging to note that he has recently thrown in multiple batting practice sessions and it is looking like a real possibility he will back on the field before the fantasy playoffs begin. There have been no negative reports regarding his progress. No setbacks have been observed.
 
As of June 1, 2024, Clayton Kershaw is only rostered by 34% of Yahoo leagues. If your league allows for multiple “IR” spots on your roster, then you should be scooping him up now if somebody hasn’t already.
 
We do not know if Kershaw will have the same effectiveness as before when he returns, but even a half-healthy Kershaw is probably better for your fantasy team than a healthy no-name bum off the waiver wire.
 
Also, remember that he still plays for the Dodgers, which means he has PLENTY of talent around him. The Dodgers rank third in scoring in the National League, so Kershaw will have plenty of run support as he pitches for the team holding the National League’s second-best record. Even if Kershaw is a bit rusty, you will still have an excellent chance for the Wins and Strikeouts categories, at the very least.
 
Many wonder if he will actually be back before the Dodgers enter the post-season. He should be. The Dodgers don’t want his first game back to be in a high-stakes playoff game. They would likely rather see him pitch in some regular season games to give himself enough time to get this “mojo” back before the playoffs commence.
 
So, do you have room on your roster for him? If you can pick him up and place him on your IR, then what are you waiting for? We are talking about Clayton Kershaw, folks!
 
He is worth a stash on your roster. Please do not wait too long to make the move. Trust me when I say you are not the only one keeping an eye on him.

Better to pick him up too early than too late! Kershaw will be a HUGE ASSET to any fantasy team as they make their playoff runs.

​Like everybody else these days, I am always trying to find ways to maximize my dollar and take advantage of any cost-saving opportunity out there, especially when it comes to groceries!

Usually, my normal way of gaining/saving money on food is to use credit cards that offer 5% cashback on groceries. Along with that, I use store rewards points that some places offer. If you shop at Winn Dixie, you know what I’m talking about! They offer weekly “multipliers” that are sometimes as high as “20x” (the norm is usually 3x, though). Sometimes I will end up gaining $20 in rewards points after a single shopping day without even factoring in the money I get from the 5% credit card cashback.

My system has worked well for groceries, but I know there are plenty of other ways to achieve even more savings and cashback. So, here I am, trying out the famous Ibotta app, which offers cashback on certain items from certain stores for limited time periods. I have heard about this app for a long time, but never took the time to install it or read further into it.

Well, last week, I finally installed the app. I must say that I wish had done it earlier! When viewing the app, I was able to see what products were available for cashback offers at the place I was shopping (Winn Dixie). I will say that there was not a HUGE number of options to pick from, but there were enough to make the installation worth it!

After browsing through all available items, I was able to find two offers that were useful to me. The first offer was for a bottle of Ketel One Vodka, with a cashback value of $3 per bottle purchases. The second offer of interest to me was a deal for the “Toasted” cracker brand, with a cashback value of $2 per box purchased. I eat these crackers all the time (with cottage cheese on top), so I was certainly intrigued.

So, as I was walking down the crackers aisle in Winn Dixie, I located the Toasted crackers. Just my luck, they were BOGO (Buy One Get One Free)! I thought to myself that the Ibotta app might not work on items that were already on sale. Well, I was wrong about that assumption! Fortunately, the Ibotta cashback still applied despite the big sale.

I picked up two boxes. The regular price of the Toasted crackers is about $4.40 per box, but since it was BOGO at Winn Dixie, it ended up being $2.20 per box. THEN, I was able to add the Ibotta cashback offer ($2 per box), which ultimately had me paying a grand total of 20 CENTS PER BOX! Great Deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There was a similar situation with the Ketel One Vodka. The vodka regularly sells around $24, but Winn Dixie had a sale with a mark-down of $3.50. On top of the $3.50 discount, the Ibotta provided another $3 in cashback. The grand total ultimately ended being $17.50 instead of $24 when it was all said and done.

CONCLUSION:
Ibotta rocks! During my first time using Ibotta, I quickly gained $7 in cashback without much effort! I will be sure to use the app again during all future grocery shopping ventures.

QUICK FYI:
If you are a current or potential user of Ibotta, make sure that you stay active. If you go six months with no cashback deals being executed from the app, you will be charged a maintenance fee of $3.99. The maintenance fees for inactivity will not stop until you become active again or until your balance goes all the way to $0, whichever comes first.

ADDITIONAL FYI:
To get credit for your purchase, you must scan your receipt within 14 days of the purchase date, so don’t forget!

TIP:
For crying out loud, do not be one of those shoppers that buys things that you don’t need just so you can get the cashback deals on them! I feel like this advice is a no-brainer for most, but I know some people are still guilty of doing this, with many of their items eventually going to the garbage without ever being touched! Be smart!

​Well, we are about five weeks into the baseball season, a pivotal time for struggling fantasy baseball managers to turn things around before their team establishes a permanent home in the basement of the standings. 

One thing you can do to bolster your team is scope the free agent market thoroughly. Are there any great players available on the waiver wires right now? If your league contains at least 12 teams, then you probably have very slim pickings to choose from right now.

Well, then again, maybe there is one guy that is available in your league that should be an INSTANT acquisition for your team if he is free.

I am talking about Ryan Jeffers, the catcher for the Minnesota Twins. In Yahoo fantasy baseball, Jeffers is only rostered in 67% of the leagues as of May 4, 2024. Sure, 67% is not too shabby, but, honestly, this guy should be rostered in at least 99% of all leagues!

During the past couple of seasons, Jeffers has steadily increased his production, and he is only getting better this season! As of May 4, 2024, Jeffers is Yahoo’s #4 ranked catcher and has impressive statistics to back this ranking. He is batting .298 with a very stellar .387 OBP and an OPS of .941. To complement these great averages, he has scored 16 runs, belted 5 homeruns, and accounted for 21 RBI’s!

One of the drawbacks to many catchers is that many do not catch every single game, so there are many days they are not even in the lineup. Jeffers is such a great hitter that even when he is not playing catcher, he is still in the lineup as a designated hitter. 

Some catchers bat late in the lineup. Does Jeffers bat late in the lineup? Nope. He always bats between leadoff and the cleanup spot!

So, somebody please explain how Jeffers is still available in 1/3 of all Yahoo leagues? Unless you have Will Smith (Dodgers), Salvador Perez (Royals), or William Contreras (Brewers), then you have no reason for not picking up Jeffers if he’s available in your league. Heck, even if you DO already have one of the other top catchers in your league, it is still worth it to snatch up Jeffers before somebody else claims him. 

You can then place him in a “Utility” role in your team’s starting lineup, or you can hold him as a VERY safe backup in case your other stud catcher gets hurt.  One of the easiest ways to fall in the standings is when you are unable to replace one of your injured starters with an effective producer! How many other catchers on the waiver wire are worth picking up right now? Not too many!

Of course, another option to consider is to use Jeffers as trade bait if you find yourself with two solid catchers. If you are in a 12-team league, it is very unlikely that all 11 other teams have a STUD catcher in their lineup, so some of your opponents may be interested in making a deal that goes in your favor.

There are plenty of strategies you can execute. First things, first, though. Check your league’s free agent list for Ryan Jeffers. If Jeffers is currently available, then pick him up RIGHT NOW!

Regardless if you pick him up or not, best of luck in your fantasy baseball adventures!